It's Friday, it's......a Republican Convention Special

It has been since I worked for a company whose global HQ was in Tampa, it is even longer since I actually spent part of a Florida holiday in Tampa, including a visit on my birthday to Busch Gardens. But this week after tropical storm Isaac put a delay to proceedings on Monday it has been the home for the Republican convention.

Seeing as I have seen a number of very good YouTube ripostes to some of the GOP's recent stupid statements I though today would be the day to share these with you.

First up the Renegade Raging Grannies take on Todd Akin and legitimate rape.


One of the big issues during the Republican Primaries was marriage equality, not doubt it will be again on ballots in many states so here is a take on that.



Finally here is a song about the next guy to fail to become President, Mitt Romney, and his failure to disclose more than 2 years tax returns. Wrong Direction with Disclosure

 

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 11 #London2012

Yes I am just going to keep the numbers progressing, the Paralympics are still part of London 2012 and the Royal Mail are issuing 2 stamp mini-sheets for each of the Gold Medalists in GB Paralympics team over the next 11 days we didn't have to wait very long for the Gold rush to resume.

First up was Sarah Storey in the women's C5 individual pursuit at the velodrome. If you missed her in qualifying in the morning she captured her opponent not once but twice on the way to a new world record which would have put her in good standing with the top women cyclists with both hands. She captured again in the final. So she will be the 30th stamp issued by the Royal Mail for the Games but the first for the Paralympics, and will have a gold post box in Manchester. It is her third Paralympic gold in cycling (after 2 in Beijing) to add to her five in swimming (Barcelona and Atlanta) before an ear infection caused her to get out of the pool and unto her bike for fitness only to find she was competitive there too.

Next up it was in the pool where after a number of silvers Jonathan Fox took the first gold in the pool in the men's S7 100m backstroke. It was an upgrade from his silver in Beijing and although not as fast as his world record time in qualification it was enough to fend off the opposition. There will be a gold post box for him in Plymouth tomorrow as well as this stamp.

Alliance sit on a fence somewhere off Donegall Street

The Alliance Party Councillor John Blair merely calling for calm on "all sides" in relation to parades and then the disturbance outside St. Patrick's Church on Donegall Street. He goes on to say:

"Following the controversy over the twelfth of July parade past the same area, we must now get agreement from all sides as to what happens in the future. We need engagement and negotiation; nobody wants to see a repeat of this violence again.

 
"There is a lot of tension over this issue, so I would urge everybody to take a mature approach to sort out future parades here; there is no need for any sort of inflammatory statement from any side."

Now lets get it clear what happened. In the run up to this.

The Young Conway Volunteers seen on Saturday

On July 12 one band The Young Conway Volunteers deliberately played the "Famine Song" outside St. Patrick's. Now there is no mistaking that this was  what they intended and not a Beach Boys tribute.

As a result the Parades Commission ruled that the band should not form part of the parade on Saturday. However, there were one of almost all the bands who played as the parade passed by St. Patrick's on Saturday.

There was a letter in the Newsletter on Saturday from all the Belfast DUP representatives in Westminster or Stormont and 4 of the 5 UUP representatives as well as Councillors calling for the Parades Commission to be scraped. Alex Kane wrote in today's Newsletter how the Unionists themselves have prolonged  the existence of the Parades Commission basically because they failed to reach agreement on what should be done about the hot potato of parades on their own.

I saw a tweet that Belfast's Grand Master actually tore up the determination of the Parade's Commission before the parade set off on Saturday. If so the bands were then responding to something that was done by the man who had responsibility for the parade making it a premeditated breach of those instructions. Does this make the Grand Master guilty of causing a breach of the peace? Does this leave him with the ultimate responsibility for heightening the tensions on Saturday that led to 7 PSNI officers being injured? Under the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 it is a crime to incite other people to disobey a ruling of the Parades Commission*.So will the Grand Master face arrest?

I notice that Alex Kane feels the need to include Pride in his list of 'provocation' from the parade and followers. Yet Pride always leave static stewards who are experienced at the flashpoints, who have been known to tell people they will be thrown off the parade for provoking the protestors. Yet in the TV footage from Saturday members of the RBI with steward sleeves on are seen geeing up the bands to play on, leaving it to the PSNI with a megaphone to try and ask the bands to stop playing.

Shockingly the area's MP condemns the acts of those who had assembled to ask for respect for St. Patrick's, and not those who breached a public order ruling for a single drum beat to be played as they passed by. That is until you realise that the MP is Nigel Dodds a member of the Loyal Orders.

Now I know I wasn't actually on Donegall Street, I was actually playing bowls at the other end of the Shankhill Road at Woodvale Park**, so I do not know exactly what went on that led to the disturbance as the last band passed. But the TV footage does show that bands played as they went past, marchers hurled insults and abuse at Catholics who largely stood by the road asking for respect outside St. Patrick's. This was a breach of the Parades Commission determination. This was a start of the tension that John Blair calls for calm on all sides, yet nowhere is there any condemnation for that obvious breach of the determination. It was obvious after the twelfth that there would be more observers there than on that day. The playing of The Sash and other songs outside St. Patrick's and the disrespect caught on camera was merely fueling the tension.

So where is the Alliance Party's outright condemnation for such an obvious breach of a legally binding determination? It is not inflammatory to call a spade a spade and get to specifics. Why haven't the Alliance condemned the bands for failing to adhere to the Parades Commissions determination? Why haven't they condemned everyone who was involved in the violence? It is all very well to be known as the party of sitting on the fence, but sometimes you need to come off the fence to make the tough calls that make the view from the fence better and safer all around.

Update It may come three days after the incident but Naomi Long the Alliance Party's sole MP has finally made a statement that points out that the determination of the Parades Commission is law saying:

"There is a requirement for people on all sides to avoid inflaming the situation, to take responsibility for those that are brought onto the streets, to avoid violence, and to fully abide by the determinations of the Parades Commission, even when there may be disagreement or anger at them."

* Thanks to a contact for digging up this fact for me.
** And getting there and back was a trek first due to numerous feeder parades and on the way back due to the police sealing off any chance of joining the West Link at Clifton Street, just above Donegall Street.

Blogged Elsewhere: Sovereign Grand Master and the separation of civil and religious

As part of his address to the assembled 1,000 members of the Royal Black Institution at Plumbridge, West Tyrone, the Sovereign Grand Master Millar Farr seems to get into a confusion about civil law and religious law. He said:

"In God’s law there is no provision for same-sex marriage. Holy scripture is quite clear on the subject – marriage is between male and female only.

"While man-made laws can be changed, God’s law is unchangeable. How politicians can imagine they have the right to create legislation which is contrary to holy scripture is beyond belief."

Of course this is not the first time that Millar Farr has used his speaking opportunities in this way.

Now let us look at this in detail....

you can read the rest on LGBT+ Liberal Democrats Northern Ireland.

One small step....into the apres vie

I was quite a serious bump when on 20 July 1969 at 20:17:39 UTC Neil Armstrong commanded the Landing Module for Apollo 11 on the surface of the moon. With the famous words "The Eagle has landed".

There was an announcement that he and Buzz Aldrin would not be stepping outside the capsule for a number of hours so my father felt he could go to sleep. It was part of the official flight plan.  But Armstrong requested that the extra vehicular activity commence earlier so it would be in the evening Houston Time so at 2:56 UTC July 21, 1969 while my father was sleeping a footprint was made at the bottom of that ladder and the words.

"One small step for [a] man. One giant leap for mankind."

Entered into the whole world's consciences.

Tonight we learn that the first man to step unto the face of another body in our solar system has passed away just weeks after his 82nd birthday.

As a child of that time when space exploration was new and exciting I loved to learn all things about space. I of course later sat and watched the first space shuttle take off and landing. When I went to Florida I just had to include on my itinary a trip to the Kennedy Space Centre. As those who know me know I'm still a fan of science fiction as well as space fact and love nothing more than in the night sky to see the stars above and dream of where we might go next.

He truly too one small step for man, there is probably still a more gigantic leap for mankind that we have yet to take, but Armstrong along with that band of Gemini and Apollo Astronauts proved they had the right stuff to make us believe we could reach for the stars.

So long Neil, you will always be the first man on the moon.

Neil Armstrong 5 August 1930 - 25 August 2012

DUP fail on equality part 2731

Liam Clarke of the Belfast Telegraph yesterday did a follow up editorial on the Magherafelt Council unionists stance and words used during the gay marriage debate. It was of course time for another unionist politician to use a phrase that shows how out of touch they are not just with reality and their electorate but modern day law.

Councillor Paul McLean the chair of the DUP group on the council when asked to clarify his party's use of biblical tracts and language in the debate said:

"We are now under the laws of today.

"I believe it should be against the law and dealt with by proper process. I believe it is wrong. I was relating a very clear biblical teaching."

The DUP had said earlier in the week that they were allowing biblical verse to be used by its members to back up their position on equal marriage. This however goes further.

The Councillor appears to want homosexuality to be treated with the proper process as laid down in biblical teaching. I'm just wondering if he will carry out the same proper process as laid down in very clear biblical teaching when he is next invited to the house of his leader and his adulterous wife? Or does his clear biblical teaching and proper process not go there?

If he is really advocating stoning to death of homosexuals surely he is going to bring back stoning of adulterers and adulteresses too, both in the same chapter only 3 verses apart.

Clarke is seeking clarity as to want is meant from the party leader, Peter Robinson, himself. In light of the above that could be an interesting response.

Now of course the DUP have signed up to the Belfast Agreement which enshrines equality for LGBT member of the Northern Irish community, therefore any step to go back to 1982 before the Dudgeon case was heard before the European Court would be contrary to that. So a return to the dark ages would have to see the DUP give up power at Stormont as they would be not in full agreement with the agreement that gives them ministerial positions.

Who is ultimate victim of rape?

There has been a lot of talk about rape in the past week. Whether it be about Julian Assange or Todd Akin, but we've had another case right here in Northern Ireland.

When I was working for the Yes! campaign in Northern Ireland I had to walk past The Family Planning Association on the way to get my lunch. Quite often there were pickets outside. Because unlike anywhere else in the UK abortion is still illegal in Northern Ireland.

It does not of course prevent Northern Irish women seeking abortions, indeed over 1000 traveled to seek one last year alone, they merely have the additional trauma have having to travel to England, Scotland or Wales. But today their anguish wasn't helped by the next Health Minster the DUP MLA Jim Wells.

Speaking on the Nolan Show he said that the ultimate victim of rape is the unborn child. Adding:

"Should he or she be punished for what has happened by having their life terminated? No.

"In Northern Ireland, there are hundreds of married couples who would love to adopt children - a child, a baby - and who could give support in that situation."

Now there isn't just one victim of any rape. Indeed in the last year in Northern Ireland there were 525 cases reported. This figure is actually higher than the number reported in the Republic of Ireland which has three times the population!

So what about the mental well being of all those 525 victims?

Not all of those 525 will want to face a nine month reminder of the horrid crime carried out against their person. Suffering through morning sickness, the back pain, the increase in girth (not to mention having to buy maternity clothes). That is to say nothing of the additional mental anguish both during and after pregnancy of having gone through being forced to carry the child full term.

Who is the ultimate victim of Northern Ireland not allowing abortion, even in such conditions?

Of course to get across to England, Scotland or Wales, these women are using savings theirs or their families, digging into pension funds or going to loan sharks to afford the additional expense of getting a ferry or flight and accommodation to cover them meeting with the two doctors, both strangers to the woman, to get the approval to abort.

Now of course earlier this week i pointed out that the DUP used biblical verses to attack gay marriage. Someone even tried to tell me that while the civil and ceremonial laws were outlawed the moral ones were to be upheld. Therefore I'm not quite sure why Jim Wells wasn't quoting the following biblical verses to defend his position, the DUP after all have cleared their members to do so.

If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father.  Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her. 

Deut 22: 28-29 New Living Translation

  If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, you shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbors wife.

Deut 22: 23-24 NLT 

So why stop at merely letting the women who has suffered at the hands of the rapist go full term and give the child up for adoption, surely the DUP should be marrying her off as this is a tradition form of biblical marriage? One goes on to wonder how any DUP politician would deal with a daughter who found herself pregnant as the victim of rape?

But of course they realise how ridiculous it is to call for that. So instead they merely add to the trauma of removing something that is causing the victim, and let us not forget the woman is a victim of a crime, undo anguish. Any other crime once the police come and take pictures of the evidence the results can be cleared away and people get on with their life, but for rape the DUP are prepared to let women live with the results, that have crashed into their lives unwarranted, for nine months.


Earlier today I did post this from the Huffington Post about how the pro-lifers are so much only looking at the rarer commodity for human reproduction. Of course going again the biblical precedent Onanism as masturbation is also called was because Onon in Genesis 38 while having sex with his dead brother's wife pulled out during sex and prevented her giving her dead husband the heir that was required from his younger brother's seed. God himself put him to death.